Viewpoints: Will the SEC save us from Citizens United?

An unlikely government agency, the Securities and Exchange Commission, may help to stem the tide of undisclosed money pumping through our political system in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's 2010 decision in Citizens United v. FEC. The SEC is not the first government agency that comes to mind when thinking of campaign finance regulations. The SEC is charged with protecting investors, maintaining markets and aiding in capital formation. Citizens United has already become one of the best-known Supreme Court decisions, perhaps of all time. There is much to bemoan in the court's decision. In the main portion of the decision the court essentially came to three conclusions.

The Sacramento Bee